The national research priorities for tertiary education and training 2011-2013 were endorsed by the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE) in June 2010. This document sets out the context for the priorities, what was learnt from the consultations and the final advice on the priorities by the NCVER Board to MCTEE. The five priority subject areas endorsed are: skills and productivity, structures in the tertiary education and training system, the contribution of education and training to social inclusion, learning and teaching, and the place and role of VET.
Diana Wilkinson, Chief Social Researcher with the Scottish Government, assisted NCVER to facilitate a forum to discuss the development of national research priorities for the vocational education and training sector. This paper summarises Diana Wilkinson's impression of the forum and uses two contrasting case studies of Scotland and Australia to consider the extent to which it is feasible to align academic research investment with medium-term priority-setting.
TAFE institutes offering higher education degrees is a relatively new concept, but the practice is expected to grow as a consequence of government policies aimed at increasing the percentage of Australians holding a bachelor degree. Five research overviews have been developed to accompany the research report on this issue. These overviews draw out the implications of the research for TAFE teachers and managers, staff development and public policy, as well as the issues raised in relation to the status of TAFE degrees.